Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Every citizen of the United States (and anyone else with an interest in politics) should take a close look at the MAPLight.org website. This rather innovative database brings together three unique data sets including bill texts, legislative voting records, and supporting and opposing interests for each bill. This data allows users to determine the contributions given by interests supporting and opposing each bill and the average donations given to legislators voting "Yes" and "No" on each bill. Currently, MAPLight.org covers the California Legislature and the U.S. Congress and first-time visitors may wish to start by watching the six-minute introductory video which explains all of the bells and whistles on the site. After that, visitors can click on either the "California" or the "U.S. Congress" sections of the site to learn about current voting patterns related to interest groups (such as teachers unions and the health insurance industry), legislators, and pending bills. Moving on, the site also offers up a presidential money race widget that can be customized in a variety of ways. Visitors may also wish to sign up to receive email updates and they are also welcome to send along feedback. >From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2008. http://scout.wisc.edu/